Samples Pages from
Objective Tests
with Answer Keys
for
Across Five Aprils
By Irene Hunt
1965 Newbery Honor Book
A Teaching Pack
by Margaret Whisnant
Copyright © 2009 Margaret Whisnant
Permission to copy for classroom use only.
All rights reserved by author.
Table of Contents
Objective Tests
Chapter Tests
Page
1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-10
6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12
7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-14
8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-16
9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-18
10. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-20
11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-22
12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-24
Whole Book Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25-28
Answer Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.......
29-30
About your Teaching Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31-32
ACROSS FIVE APRILS
By Irene Hunt
1
Pages 7-26
Write the letter of the correct answer in the blank before each question.
______1. Ellen Creighton and her family lived in southern (A) Illinois, (B) Ohio, (C) Michigan.
______2. When the story began, Ellen and Jethro were planting (A) corn, (B) wheat, (C) potatoes.
______3. Of the twelve children Ellen Creighton had given birth to, (A) only Jethro lived at home,
(B) only two were boys, (C) three died within one week in 1852.
______4. To Ellen, it seemed that nine-year-old Jethro (A) was a perfect son, (B) was marked by
Destiny, (C) was smarter than his brothers and sisters.
______5. On that April morning in 1861, the adult world of trouble included (A) no money and last
summer's crop failure, (B) talk of war, (C) a severe food shortage.
______6. Shadrach was both Matt Creighton's farmhand and (A) the schoolmaster, (B) a surveyor,
(C) a member of the state legislature.
______7. Ellen thought of Shadrach as (A) a bad influence on Jethro, (B) a temporary acquaintance,
(C) a part of her family.
______8. Shadrach had a great interest in (A) Jethro's sister Jenny, (B) the issue of slavery,
(C) becoming a doctor.
______9. The purpose of Shad's trip into Newton was to (A) buy supplies for spring planting, (B) pick
up materials for Jenny's wedding, (C) get news from the world beyond their own land.
_____10. To Jethro, dread of war was (A) greatly exaggerated, (B) a womanly weakness, (C) wasted
worry.
_____11. Ellen worried that if war came, (A) the family would lose their land, (B) all her sons, except
Jethro, would be killed, (C) Jethro would leave to join the fight.
_____12. To cheer his mother as they worked in the fields, Jethro told her what he had learned in
school about (A) the Bible, (B) Columbus, (C) Copernicus.
_____13. Jethro was aware that there had been bad feelings between the adults in the area over
(A) the election of President Lincoln, (B) who owned the land bordering his parents’
property, (C) whether their state should be slave or free.
_____14. Although he didn't tell his mother, Jethro hoped (A) war would come soon, (B) war could be
avoided, (C) his family would join the Confederacy .
Copyright © 2009 Margaret Whisnant
Taking Grades Publishing company, Conover, NC 28613
1
1
Pages 7-26--continued
_____15. The war stories Jethro remembered were about (A) the War for Independence, (B) men who
had lived through it, (C) his father's experience in the War of 1812.
_____16. In the winter of '59, Jethro's sister Mary (A) had been killed senselessly in an accident,
(B) had drowned at a church social, (C) had been murdered.
_____17. The mob that planned to hang Travis Burdow was stopped by (A) the local militia,
(B) Grandfather Burdow and his sons, (C) Matt Creighton's words.
_____18. Jethro felt resentment toward both President Lincoln and his father because they
(A) wouldn't express their opinions, (B) had no sympathy for the southern states, (C) were
hesitant to make a decision that might lead to bloodshed.
_____19. Jethro's family lived in a (A) sod house, (B) a log cabin, (C) a large house made of rough
lumber.
_____20. The garden near the family home was tended and harvested by Jethro's (A) mother,
(B) younger brothers, (C) sister, Jenny.
_____21. John's wife Nancy was (A) open, friendly, and well-liked by her husband's family,
(B) withdrawn, (C) jealous of the relationship John had with his family.
_____22. Which of the following was not a reason Bill Creighton was thought of as peculiar by people
in the area? He (A) went to school and read every book he could find, (B) took in injured
animals and nursed them back to health, (C) cared very little for hunting and nothing at all
for drinking.
_____23. Jethro's favorite brother was (A) John, (B) Tom, (C) Bill.
_____24. The noonday meal was prepared for the Creighton family by (A) Jenny, Jethro's sister,
(B) John's wife and Jethro's mother, (C) John's wife.
_____25. Ellen Creighton strove to (A) form a special bond with her daughter-in-law and
grandchildren, (B) make family ties firm and secure, (C) keep her husband and grown sons
on speaking terms.
_____26. What special food was there for Jethro at the dinner table? (A) lettuce, (B) apple pie, (C) wild
strawberry jam.
_____27. Jethro was allowed to eat at the first table with his parents and elder brothers because he
(A) was now a field worker, (B) was almost ten, (C) gave his usual place to John's two
children.
_____28. The adult luxury at the first table was (A) the first servings from all the food, (B) coffee,
(C) fresh fruit.
_____29. Jenny's father thought she was, at fourteen, (A) old enough to cook for the family without her
mother’s help, (B) the perfect age for marriage, (C) too young to be thinking about marrying
Shad or any other man.
_____30. Bill was unwilling to talk to his brother John about (A) war, (B) Jenny's relationship with
Shad, (C) Nancy's shyness and withdrawn behavior.
_____31. After John expressed his eagerness to see the city newspapers Shad would bring from
town, Jethro sensed that (A) his father and Bill agreed, (B) Nancy was worried about her
family in Kansas, (C) there was tension in the air.
_____32. To tease his mother, Jethro called her (A) "Maw Creighton," (B) "Mis' Creighton,"
(C) "Mother Creighton."
_____33. Both Jethro's mother and her nephew Wilse Graham were from (A) Tennessee ,
(B) Arkansas, (C) Kentucky.
Copyright © 2009 Margaret Whisnant
Taking Grades Publishing company, Conover, NC 28613
2
ACROSS FIVE APRILS
By Irene Hunt
2 Pages 27-36
Write either True or False in the blank before each statement.
___________1. John and Bill Creighton were glad to see their cousin Wilse Graham.
___________2. Because they were farmers, Jethro's family would not be affected if Kentucky
and Missouri joined the Confederacy.
___________3. Most of the folks in southern Illinois had ties with Missouri, Kansas, or
Tennessee.
___________4. Though he was from the South, Wilse was sympathetic and supportive of the
views held by the industrialized North.
___________5. Ellen Creighton felt slavery was wrong and that there should be a movement
against it.
___________6. If war came, Wilse believed England would help the South because it needed
cotton.
___________7. Wilse Graham did not own slaves, but he felt there was no sin when a master
treated his slaves kindly.
___________8. Bill hated slavery, but he also believed the issue was being used to cover the
greed that existed in the North.
___________9. Jethro's father argued that human nature was more decent and responsible
than it had been in the past.
__________10. Hearing his father speak of his growing into a man made Jethro even more
excited about the prospect of war.
__________11. Both John and Bill agreed that the South should be left alone, even if it
meant slavery would spread into every new territory.
__________12. The talk of slavery and war ceased at the table when Ellen demanded it.
__________13. Bill helped Jenny clear up after supper so his mother could rest.
Copyright © 2009 Margaret Whisnant
Taking Grades Publishing company, Conover, NC 28613
3
ACROSS FIVE APRILS
By Irene Hunt
3 Pages 37-46
Write either Yes or No in the blank before each question.
______1.
Was it in a Fourth-of-July atmosphere that the people of southern Illinois listened
to weekend speeches about the war?
______2.
Did Congressmen and hoop-skirted ladies drive out in carriages to witness the
Battle of Bull Run?
______3.
Did Union troops win the first battle of the war?
______4.
After the first battle, did Tom and Eb still boast that the south would be defeated in
one decisive swoop?
______5.
During the summer, did some people begin to think the South might have been
right in its boast that northern factory workers would be no match for their bronzed
outdoor men?
______6.
Did John and Shadrach plan to leave for the war by mid winter?
______7.
Did Bill talk about his plans to get involved in the fighting?
______8.
Shortly after Tom and Eb left, did the North win several important battles?
______9.
Did the battle at Wilson's Creek and the turmoil in Missouri spill over into southern
Illinois and into Jethro's family?
_____10.
Did Jethro have nightmares as a result of the stories he heard about Wilson’s
Creek?
_____11.
Did Bill roam the fields after bedtime because he couldn't sleep?
Copyright © 2009 Margaret Whisnant
Taking Grades Publishing company, Conover, NC 28613
4
ACROSS FIVE APRILS
By Irene Hunt
Whole Book Test
Write the letter of the correct answer in the blank before each question.
______1.
Jethro and his family lived in southern (A) Illinois, (B) Ohio, (C) Maryland.
______2.
When the story began, Jethro was (A) eleven, (B) ten, (C) nine.
______3.
Jethro was born the same year (A) his three older brothers died within a week
of each other, (B) Shadrach Yale came to Newton, (C) the Dread Scott case
was decided.
______4.
What was special about Walnut Hill? (A) The Indians thought it was sacred.
(B) Jethro's three brothers and sister were buried there. (C) It was Ellen
Creighton's favorite place on their property.
______5.
Of the twelve children Ellen had given birth to, which one did she favor? (A) Bill,
(B) Jenny, (C) Jethro.
______6.
Which of the following was not true of Shadrach Yale? (A) He taught school
in the winter and worked as a farmhand for Matt Creighton in the summer.
(B) He and Jenny Creighton were sweethearts. (C) He was from Tennessee.
______7.
Mary Creighton died (A) from pneumonia the winter of '59, (B) in an accident
caused by Travis Burdow, (C) while she was visiting her mother's relatives in
Kentucky.
______8.
Jethro's favorite brother was (A) Bill, (B) Tom, (C) John.
______9.
Eb Carron was (A) Matt Creighton's nephew, (B) Ellen Creighton's nephew,
(C) Shadrach Yale's cousin.
_____10.
Which of Ellen Creighton's sons had been very close to one another since they
were children? (A) John and Tom. (B) Mary and Jenny. (C) John and Bill.
_____11.
The Creightons got most of their information about the war from (A) Jed Turner,
(B) newspapers, (C) letters from relatives.
_____12.
Where the Creightons lived, many folks (A) had roots in the South, (B) were
not concerned with the issue of slavery, (C) kept to themselves and didn't want
to get involved in the war.
_____13.
At Bull Run, the first battle of the war, (A) the Southern army turned and ran,
(B) carriages full of spectators, including congressmen and ladies, drove out to
watch the battle, (C) General McClellan became a hero for the North.
Copyright © 2009 Margaret Whisnant
Taking Grades Publishing company, Conover, NC 28613
5
About Your Novel Teaching Pack
The primary goal in creating the teaching packs for children’s novels is to provide a classroom-ready, nonthreatening method for checking student comprehension and stretching thinking skills. When used as a basic
guide for teaching a novel, the materials offer many and varied opportunities for learning.
Use your teaching pack as a guide and lead your students into discovering new ideas about . . . . .
THE PLOT
Each test page is actually an outline of the plot. In your teaching pack, the chain of related events that tell the
story has been pulled from the novel and reformatted into a series of questions. Whether they are aware of their
ability or not, all good readers sense the rhythm of the connected events that compose the plot; and
consequently comprehend the story. This “plot rhythm” is the basic structure of the tests.
To further your students’ understanding of plot, try the following activities:
Summarizing the Story: Using only the chapter questions as a guide, have your students write a summary of the
chapter. For a set of ten questions, limit the number of sentences they may write to seven. For twenty questions,
allow no more than twelve sentences.
Reporting the News: Have students write a newspaper article, based on the events from a set of questions, and
add the who, what, when, where, why format. Some needed information may be located in previous chapters.
Twisting the Plot: Choose one or two questions from each chapter and change its answer—true to false, no to
yes, or a different answer—and explain how changing a single (or several) events would change the story.
To further illustrate the rhythm of a good story, try changing the answers to one complete set of questions. Your
students will see how difficult, if not impossible, it is to tell a sensible story from a tangled set of events.
THE CHARACTERS
Questions that illustrate character motivation and personality are purposely included. Too often, when they
are asked to tell what kind of person a story character is, the only answer many of our students can muster is
“nice.”
In your efforts to remove “nice” from your students’ literary vocabulary, try this idea:
Character Charts: Display individual charts for the main characters. As the chapters are read, record facts,
behaviors, or events that relate to the each character. Then connect the items with several appropriate words
such as empathetic, brave, calloused, bold, untrustworthy, etc. The teacher can take the lead by contributing
the first few words and then assigning the task of identifying more terms to students. Record the word collections
on the charts with the story facts.
This information is a valuable student resource when displayed in the room for all to see and use during a
writing assignment. In creating and using character charts, students will soon begin writing more fluently and
insightfully about story personalities.
Use the charts to encourage your students to try some “predicting” or “detective” writing about what the
character(s) might do next or what might have happened after the story ended. Let the charts help your students
recognize CHARACTER CHANGE (dynamics).
Another fun activity with the charts is to match a book personality with a zodiac sign. Students must justify
their reason for thinking a character is a particular sign by citing his/her behaviors, words, reactions to situations,
etc. that prove the match.
READING BETWEEN THE LINES
(Implied Meaning)
Because the primary goal for the objective questions is basic comprehension, items requiring a student to
interpret an event or a character’s behavior are not included. Always included, however, are questions that
establish the existence of a story component carrying an implied meaning.
Copyright © 2009 Margaret Whisnant
Taking Grades Publishing company, Conover, NC 28613
6
MAKING PREDICTIONS
(Recognizing Story Clues)
Authors subtly place clues in the story line giving the reader hints as to what is about to happen. Like the
implied meaning, these clues are brought to the reader’s attention in the form of a question. Once a student
learns to spot the gems, his/her ability to comprehend and enjoy a story tends to leap forward.
Use “thinking-out-loud” class discussions to list all the possible meanings of the clue questions. Have your
student write their individual predictions (no sharing or telling), store the papers until the novel is finished, and
then retrieve them for reading. Sometimes, a wrong prediction makes a story as good as the original.
OTHER FUCTIONS
The objective test pages are excellent discussion guides for both whole groups and small groups. They work
well as homework reading guides and as conferencing tools. They are also useful management tools for teachers
who wish to use multiple titles in one classroom.
IMPROVING/DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS
Rather than always requiring your students to answer test questions on a printed page, surprise them (and
save paper!!) by occasionally doing the test orally.
Try this technique:
Student Rules for an Oral Test:
The teacher will read each question two times. No comments or questions that interrupt this initial phase of the
test are allowed.
When all questions have been read, individual students may ask for repeats of any
question he/she wishes to hear again.
No interruptions/comments during the re-reading part of the test.
Teacher Rules for an Oral Test:
The teacher will read each question two times. Except to remind students that a
re-reading phase will follow after the last question, he/she will not respond to
comment/question during this period.
The teacher will repeat any and all questions (even if it results in reading the same
question multiple times).
(The second teacher rule is a vital part of the exercise. Asking for multiple repeats of a question does not
mean students aren’t paying attention. It does indicate their desire to understand and answer the question
correctly.)
As students become more comfortable and experienced with oral test-taking, the number of requests for
repeated questions will diminish. An added bonus to this technique is that skills learned in these testing periods
tend to translate into other situations where teacher-talking and student-listening are required components of
learning.
Final Note
The Novel Teaching Packs are designed for use as supplementary material that supports a total reading
program. It is my goal to provide busy teachers with a classroom-ready, practical resource loaded with
motivational and learning opportunities for their students. It is my hope that your purchase will prove to be a
hard-working instructional component for years to come. Thanks for choosing one of my products for your
classroom.
Margaret Whisnant, Author
Copyright © 2009 Margaret Whisnant
Taking Grades Publishing company, Conover, NC 28613
7